WASHINGTON, DC — Today, the United Specialists for Patient Access (USPA) is announcing that the organization will be relaunching as the Office-Based Facility Association (OBFA). While the key priorities of USPA will continue to be championed by OBFA, the new association marks an evolution in our efforts to (1) protect independent practices providing office-based specialty care and (2) provide meaningful Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) reform options to policymakers.

Office-based specialty centers across the country have incorporated technological advances like cutting-edge medical supplies (e.g. drug-coated balloons for endovascular procedures) and equipment (e.g. linear accelerators for cancer care), which make them more akin to hospital or ambulatory surgical center (ASC) facilities. These centers typically are the lowest-cost site-of-service and are critical for rural access where hospitals or ASCs may not typically be present.

Building from prior efforts since the inception of USPA in 2021, OBFA now will advocate for the establishment of a new site-of-service for office-based specialty centers: the “Office-Based Facility.” Importantly, this objective also is grounded in a long-standing AMA recommendation to remove high-cost supplies from the PFS. Services in the new Office-Based Facility site-of-service would include high-cost supply services over $500, which are no longer adequately reimbursed from the PFS.

Evidence shows that the need for a new site-of-service for office-based specialists is overwhelming. USPA research consistently has shown that cuts to office-based specialists under the PFS have been catastrophic. For example, since 2006, Medicare PFS cuts to physical therapy, cardiology, radiation oncology, vascular surgery, and interventional radiology have been - 8%, -18%, -21%, -28%, and -35%, respectively. More recent research from OBFA has found – according to Medicare’s own data – that Medicare reimbursement no longer covers even the practice costs (not to mention physician salary) for at least 195 office-based interventional services in the PFS.

Establishing a new “Office-Based Facility” site-of-service would stop further closures of independent office-based specialty centers and provide additional resources for overall PFS reform. Outpatient Endovascular and Interventional Society (OEIS) Past President and OBFA board member Jerry Niedzwiecki, MD, said, “OBFA represents a logical next step in the mission of advocating for the fundamental reform of the PFS to ensure patient access to office-based specialty care. Together, OEIS, OBFA, and our stakeholder partners are committed to working with Congress and the Administration to achieve this objective.”

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